Killer Films Boards Ray Panthaki’s Directorial Debut ‘In Starland’ as Feature Lands Tallinn World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

“In Starland,” the directorial debut of British star Ray Panthaki and led by “Sing Sing” breakout Clarence Maclin, has been backed by some of the indie film world’s leading lights. Killer Films has boarded the feature, with Christine Vachon and Mason Plotts having joined the producing team. The news comes just as “In Starland” has been announced as world premiering at the 30th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, where it has been selected to close the festival’s first feature competition. Popular on Variety Written by Panthaki and Jason Kavan, “In Starland” is described as a coming-of-middle-age drama which Maclin plays Ernie, a 50-year-old loner whose quiet life is upended when a group of young influencers arrive in his small town and draw him into their chaotic, hyper-connected world, forcing him to confront questions of belonging, identity and the life he has allowed himself to live. The ensemble cast also includes Miss Benny (“Club Kid”), Bella Maclean (“Rivals”), Colin Buckingham, Leesie Pinto, Tai’mua, Kang Frvr, Mollee Gray, Gallant, Maxwell Cunningham, Marcus Scribner and Ben Dickey. “In Starland” is produced by Panthaki and Daniel Khalili for Le Bateau Lavoir, Daisy Allsop for Archface Films and Victor Paul Wajnberg, and executive produced by Vachon and Plotts for Killer Films. The production was shot independently in Mississippi over 20 days, with Panthaki and his producing partners building the film outside the traditional studio system. Earlier this year, “In Starland” was selected as one of the BFI and British Council’s GREAT 8 at Cannes, the annual showcase spotlighting eight new UK feature films from first-time and early-career filmmakers to international buyers and festival programmers. “This film has been independent in the truest sense of the word. We took something already considered independent and stripped even that infrastructure away. There was no safety net, just a group of people who believed the film should exist and kept finding a way to make that happen,” said Panthaki. “That belief has carried us all the way through — in Clarence, in Daniel, in me, and ultimately in the film itself. So to be invited to world premiere at a festival like Tallinn, and close the first feature competition, is a huge honour.”